Regardless of cold weather conditions, construction equipment such as front end loaders, back hoes, bulldozers and the like are expected to perform its tasks. While block heaters, low-temperature lubricants and the like help their engines run more reliably, the actual business end of the unit such as the blade or bucket is very prone to having the moved material freeze up or cake in or on the bucket or blade respectively. This results in lost time in removing such buildup. Further, inaccurate volume measurements during loading or unloading procedures are another negative factor. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which construction equipment can be used in cold weather environments without the disadvantages ad described above. The development of the invention herein described fulfills this need.
Several attempts have been made in the past to provide an apparatus for defrosting construction equipment during cold weather. U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,489 in the name of Hughes discloses a shovel having an electric heating element affixed to the blade portion thereof. A rechargeable battery is utilized to provide energizing power to the heating element. The rechargeable battery, as well as the heating element, may be energized by utilizing a power cord adapted to flexibly convey household utility current to the apparatus. The handle portion of the shovel is exposed to some of the heat generated by the heating element thereby providing additional comfort to the user. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not assist a user to defrost construction equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,838 in the name of Morlock discloses a heated bucket system for significantly reducing the accumulation of frozen mud and ice within a bucket, thereby maintaining the bucket's dirt moving capacity. The inventive device includes a bucket attachable to an arm of a backhoe or other machinery, a pump attached to the coolant system of the backhoe, an inflow tube fluidly connected to the pump, a heat tube attached to the back member of the bucket preferably in a sinusoidal pattern and fluidly connected to the inflow tube, and an outflow tube fluidly connected to the heat tube opposite of the inflow tube and fluidly connected to the coolant system of the backhoe. In operation, the pump draws the heated coolant within the coolant system and pumps it through the heat tube attached to the bucket. The heat from within the coolant is exchanged with the bucket thereby maintaining the temperature of the bucket above freezing. The coolant is then returned to the coolant system through an outflow tube. The heated bucket prevents the mud and water from freezing within the bucket during operation, thereby maintaining the earth moving capacity of the backhoe in cold weather conditions. The invention also operates to maintain earth moving capacity during warm weather conditions by preventing the accumulation of mud and sticky dirt. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not assist a user to defrost other construction equipment during freezing temperatures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,623 in the name of Weeks describes a road and/or airport runway scraping blade for use with a ground supported vehicle. The scraping blade includes a frame for attaching the scraping blade to the vehicle. The scraping blade has a front facing side, a rearward facing side, a top edge and a bottom edge. Both edges extend laterally of a longitudinal axis of the vehicle when coupled to the vehicle. A coupling structure is provided for facilitating a coupling of the frame to the vehicle with the rearward facing side facing the rear of the vehicle. An elongated conduit and a fastening structure is provided for fastening the conduit to the rearward facing side of the blade intermediate the coupling structure and the bottom edge of the blade. A longitudinal axis of the conduit extends generally parallel to the lower edge. A plurality of laterally spaced spray nozzles are provided and are oriented along a length of the conduit and communicating with an interior of the conduit. The spray nozzles are directed downwardly away from the coupling structure and toward the ground so that a liquid supplied to the interior of the conduit will be sprayed onto the ground in a region immediately behind the lower edge. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not assist a user to defrost construction equipment.
None of the prior art particularly describes an anti-freeze backhoe bucket. Accordingly, there is a need for such an invention. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an apparatus that is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, and designed for defrosting construction equipment during cold weather.